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Bitcoin Falls Sharply as SEC Delays ETF Decision until September

By:
Bob Mason
Updated: Aug 8, 2018, 07:41 UTC

Bitcoin takes an early hit as the broader market continues to slide following the SEC's latest delay, the bears firmly in control early on.

bitcoins

Bitcoin slid by 6.96% on Tuesday, following on from Monday’s 1.16% fall, to end the day at $6,714. Bitcoin falls after the Securities exchange and commission postponed the approval of Bitcoin’s ETF until September.

Yesterday, a bullish start to the day saw Bitcoin move through to an early afternoon intraday high $7,150, Bitcoin breaking through the first major resistance level at $7,116.07, before easing back, while holding on to $7,000 levels through the afternoon.

Late in the day, a broad-based market sell-off saw Bitcoin slide through the day’s first major support level at $6,809.47 to call on support at the second major support level at $6,674.93, with an intraday low $6,677 before recovering to $6,700 levels by the day’s end.

Of greater significance on the day was Bitcoin’s pullback through the 23.6% FIB Retracement Level of $6,757, a further reaffirmation of a resumption to the extended bearish trend formed back at 5th May’s swing hi $9,999.

News of yet another postponement by the SEC on approving a Bitcoin ETF did the damage on Tuesday, the continued delay in approvals suggesting that there is more to the postponing than meets the eye, with the markets all too aware of the delayed release of unified rules and regulations by the G20.

With Bitcoin and the broader market suffering at the hands of the crypto bears, the sensitivity to any news has weighed significantly, in spite of a delay being quite different to a decline.

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At the time of writing, Bitcoin was down 6.96% to $6,537.8, with Tuesday’s late sell-off continuing into the early hours of the morning, investors unable to shake off the jitters following the SEC’s latest decision to delay.

The early morning slide saw Bitcoin pullback from an opening $6,718.7, through the first major support level at $6,544 and the second major support level at $6,374, to a morning low $6,360.5, before finding much need support to recover to $6,500 levels.

For the day ahead, a move back through the first major support level at $6,544 would support a run at the 23.6% FIB Retracement Level of $6,757 to bring $7,000 levels and the day’s first major resistance level at $7,017 into play, though sentiment across the broader market will need to materially improve following Tuesday’s late and this morning’s early sell-off.

Failure to move back through the first major support level to take a run at the 23.6% FIB Retracement Level could see Bitcoin take a bigger hit later in the day, a pullback through the day’s second major support level at $6,374 likely to bring sub-$6,000 levels into play for the first time since late June.

Investors will be looking for the broader market sell-off to ease and for support to kick in as Tuesday’s spill over washes out. If there’s a second wave of selling later in the day, new lows for the year may well be on the cards for Bitcoin, with some of the other majors having already fallen to levels not seen since prior to the December rally.

BTC/USD 08/08/18 4-Hourly Chart

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About the Author

Bob Masonauthor

With over 20 years of experience in the finance industry, Bob has been managing regional teams across Europe and Asia and focusing on analytics across both corporate and financial institutions. Currently he is covering developments relating to the financial markets, including currencies, commodities, alternative asset classes, and global equities.

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